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It's True: You're Paying Much More for Rent Next Year

BOSTON (
TheStreet) -- It's no secret renters have been feeling the crunch of a competitive rental market for a few years now. If it seems like rent increases have been unusually high this year, though, that's because they are.

In June, the real estate data firm
Trulia(TRLA) analyzed the rent prices in 25 of the largest rental markets in the United States. What they found is an average annual increase of 3.9%. This figure is a huge increase when compared with inflation or income growth. Generally speaking, incomes are not keeping pace with rent increases, putting renters in an even tighter position.

According to Trulia, the five least-affordable rental markets in the country are New York City, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston, all of which seemed to charge rents making up close to or more than half of a renter's average monthly wage.

The cities that experienced the highest rent hikes for 2012-13 were Houston, Miami, Boston, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla., and San Diego. Some cities, such as Houston, Texas, had lower rents to begin with than the national average for major cities, whereas others were raised from already higher-than-average rates. For instance, Boston -- already one of the most expensive cities in the country -- saw a 5.5% increase in rents this year.

It would seem the recent rent increases are an enduring ripple effect of the foreclosure epidemic that catalyzed the Great Recession, flooding the market with prospective renters. At the same time, the gradual economic recovery has resulted in rising employment rates. With a shortage of available rentals, landlords are in the enviable position of being able to name their price and have their pick among desirable tenants willing to pay it.

In their most recent survey, the apartment-research firm
RealFacts not only found that rents are up nationwide in 39 of the 41 markets they analyzed, but that these increases occurred even in cities building rental units at a precipitous pace.